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Ask Papa Weimer: Week 6 Fantasy Football Advice Part 2

As promised, the questions keep coming in (and I’m still kicking) so I’ll share them with the rest of you. As always, you can email any football questions to papaweimer50@hotmail.com – working hard to dream big! Hope these tidbits help!

David wonders, “Would you rather have Mario Manningham or Anthony Gonzalez?”

I’d rather have Anthony Gonzalez, and it’s not only because I thought he was going to be a good player prior to the season – but that has something to do with it. I’m a firm believer that you need to have good reason to lose interest or belief in a player you expected big things from in any given year. Giving up on a guy because he was injured doesn’t seem to be right. Gonzo went down early, and since then every time I see Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie put up big numbers, I think to myself how right I could be about Gonzo if the injury bug didn’t whack him on the head. I like Manningham, don’t get me wrong, the kid is fast, runs good routes, is tough to tackle, and gets the ball – but I believe he’ll get fewer catches with Hakeem Nicks becoming more and more a part of the Giants offense. Gonzalez has a chance to be a decent #2 receiver, where I don’t think Manningham will be a consistent WR this season, and is probably no better than a #3 or Flex. When you’re making a play on a guy, go for upside, and I think Anthony has that. Long answer shortened, I’d rather have Gonzo.

Stuck in a Trailer writes, “Here’s a question for you- should I dump Glen Coffee he has a bye week and then Gore returns, I could pick up TE for my TE bye week or a decently dropped Def or some receiver or RB who might be on the waiver wire worth picking up, Thoughts?”

Yeah, I think that’s a good move. Unless you’re hurting for RB options, I think Coffee isn’t a must have. It was said to me that Gore actually wanted to play last week, not sure what that means, but what it says to me is he’ll definitely be back when football moves forward for the 49ers, and Coffee hasn’t set the world on fire. Coffee is solid, but if you can pick up a player that will help you in the future, I think dropping him is a good move. Especially if you get a pretty good guy that somebody had to drop to fill a bye week spot. It’s always tough to drop players that have been consistent for you, but sometimes that’s the best move.

Isaac Melgoza from Santa Ana California first thanked me for giving him Chris Johnson last season, told me he digs the site, gave me his team, receivers and running backs (Burleson, Berrian, Boldin, Sims-Walker, Maningham and LT, Steven Jackson, Jerome Harrison, Glen Coffee) and his league scoring settings (We start 2 RBs and 3 WRs. 2 points for 25 yards rushing or receiving, 10 points for every TD, 20 points for a TD of 50 or more) and asked me, “Would you trade LT, Sims-Walker, and Manningham for AP and Steve Smith (Carolina)? Would you still do the deal if it was Derrick Mason and another receiver plus AP for those three guys? Am I giving up too much? Would you counter offer? Thanks for the help!”

Isaac, thanks for the question, and I’m glad you benefited from Chris last season. You know, it’s crazy, a ton of people have written in for the first time this season starting off by thanking me for Chris Johnson, pretty funny. Gotta love it. I assume next year new readers will write in thanking me for nothing with Anthony Gonzalez and Eddie Royal, haha, but they still have time to prove me right! Hope you keep enjoying the site!

As for the trade, I think Sims Walker, Manningham, and LT for AP and Steve Smith would be a huge win for you. Even Derrick Mason wouldn’t be too shabby, he’s, at the very least, a very consistent guy. But he never catches a lot of touchdowns, so in a league like yours he’s not too great. I like Sims Walker a lot, but he’s not an upgrade over Steve Smith, in my opinion. Sure, through 5 weeks he has more points, and he’s been great in games as a starter, but Steve Smith, shoot, we’re talking about one of the baddest receivers in the league. He has 40+ targets through 4 games, and soon enough that will result in big point totals. LT should be decent the rest of the season, but he definitely looks like he’s trying too hard, and he’s no Adrian Peterson at this point in his career. AP hasn’t been great besides week 1, either, but I like his upside. He should actually be better against teams that keep the game close, because the Vikings won’t ride him hard if they don’t need to, obviously they are trying to keep him healthy. I think a line-up of McNabb, A MF’in P, Steven Jackson, Boldin, Burelson, Steve Smith or D. Mason, with some solid upside back-up WRs like you have is a good move. I’d keep Flacco, he’s a great back-up, especially with McNabb and his injury question marks over the years. You starting line-up should contend for a championship. Don’t get me wrong, your team is solid as is, but AP is a huge upgrade at a position where you haven’t gotten great production thus far. Go for it! Thanks again for the write-in, love to give you my answers anytime.

Miguel explains his situation and asks, “I need some fantasy help from a guru! I am in a PPR league where we start 2 QBs, 3 WRs, 2 RBs, and a TE for our main offense.Rogers, Henne, and Edwards as my QBs – TO, Berrian, Burleson, Boldin, and Massaqoui for WR – Slaton, Jacobs, Chester Taylor, and LeSean McCoy at RB – Shockey and Heap at TE. I was offered a trade of Favre and LT in exchange for Rogers and Berrian. Is this something I should jump on? Byes might be a problem as LT and Slaton are gone in Week 10… “

Miguel, I would stick with Rogers and Berrian I think, Rogers is an elite passer, and should have huge games. Brett will be decent, but I think that Minnesota offense will continue to rely heavily on the run game, and getting rid of Rogers is a very tough deal. Burleson and Boldin are elite receivers this season, both will continue to get high targets, and I expect Boldin to be even better as the season moves forward. So you’re pretty good there. And depending on match-up, TO, Berrian, and Massaquoi are nice 3rd WR options.

The problem with the trade is that I don’t think it makes either position better, and if you’re not improving somewhere, why make a deal, right? If you only start 2 running backs, I think Jacobs and Slaton should be solid as the season goes forward, I hardly expect Jacobs to continue his low yard per carry output, he should get better. Slaton will continue to be a solid play as the season goes forward, good PPR guy and a solid runner. LT is decent, but he will share carries and has had a tough time with aches and pains of late. I would rank Jacobs and Slaton ahead of LT from now until the end of the season. And obviously I would rank Rogers higher than Favre. LT would give you depth, but with Chester Taylor and McCoy, you have two upside guys that could produce in a crunch. Keep your stud QB, who has even more value in a 2 QB league, and I think your team would be better off. The byes are a tough deal, but by week 10 you might have a starting RB in McCoy, and maybe even some numbers form Chester, or you could find a back-up for an injured starter somewhere along the line. Don’t worry about byes quite yet. Hope that helps!